EAU Press Releases

EAU Press Releases

The EAU regularly publishes press releases. Other news can be found in the News section or in the EAU News mailing. Stay up to date, and subscribe to the EAU Press Mailing List to receive the latest EAU press releases and other relevant information. Please subscribe here.

A new analysis raises concern over high prescription rates in the USA of a common drug used to treat overactive bladder. The drug, oxybutynin, when taken orally, is consistently linked with cognitive impairment and dementia in the elderly. The analysis shows that oxybutynin, is prescribed in more than a quarter of cases of overactive bladder (27.3%), even though other more suitable drugs are available. This work is presented at the European Association of Urology conference in London, where concerns are also being expressed about the lack of funded alternatives to oxybutynin in Europe.

A new study has found that reducing obstructive sleep apnea (where patients have difficulty in breathing while asleep -often associated with loud snoring) can reduce the need to get up and pee at night (nocturia). This study confirms the link between apnea and nocturia, and supports the idea that lifestyle management may contribute to reducing nocturia in certain cases. Nocturia affects more than half of men and women over the age of 50 ref1 and is reported as the most irritating of all voiding symptomsref2.

Screening for prostate cancer is controversial. It can save lives, but it can also lead to unnecessary diagnoses, followed by surgical or radiation procedures, which themselves may lead to severe side-effects. Now a new study, coming from the Dutch part of the European Randomised study for the Screening of Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) has found that MRI-based screening can reduce overdiagnosis by 50% and reduce unnecessary biopsies by 70%, potentially changing the equation for prostate cancer screening. This work, the first to confirm that the use of MRI in a population-based screening setting may be viable, is presented at the EAU conference in London.

New clinical trial results show that stem cells can restore sufficient erectile function to allow previously impotent men to have spontaneous intercourse. This is the first time stem cell therapy has produced patients who have recovered sufficient erectile function to enable intercourse. This is an early trial, which was primarily addressing safety and dosage (a Phase 1 trial), so the results need to be interpreted accordingly.

Scientists have piloted silicon biosensor chips which can rapidly identify the best antibiotics for treating bacterial infections. The system can direct clinicians to the best antibiotic treatment in around 2 to 6 hours, rather than upwards of 2 days which is typical of conventional tests. The new technology, which is still in development, is being presented at the European Association of Urology congress in London.

Often patients undergo procedures without real informed consent being achieved due to technical language, jargon and time pressure, with up to half of patients finding it difficult to understand what their doctor tells them [1, 2]. Now a group of Australian doctors has prepared patients for surgery using iPads, and found that patients’ understanding was much better than after a face-to-face consultation.

Choosing ongoing monitoring instead of immediate curative treatment (surgery or radiotherapy) leads to a better overall quality of life for men with low-risk prostate cancer. In fact, the Quality of life (QoL) is about the same as for men who do not have cancer. These are the findings of a new long-term study comparing Active Surveillance, immediate curative treatment, and a reference group of men without cancer, presented at the Annual Congress of the European Association of Urology in Munich.

The most comprehensive study so far conducted, from over 30,000 patients in the Danish Cancer Registry, give support to the idea that statin use causes a reduction in mortality after prostate cancer. This work is presented at the 31st Annual EAU Congress in Munich.

A study on non-coding RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) from prostate cancer patients has identified a series of new prostate cancer markers which can be found in urine. Combining these RNA markers into a single test potentially opens the door for simple, accurate non-invasive testing for prostate cancer.

A new Europe-wide survey shows significant country-to-country differences in rates of kidney transplant donors. The survey shows for example within the EU, there is a x5 variation in the number of kidney donors per country (per head of population). This variation is probably due to different legal and social standards across Europe.